


The Common Tongue of You Loving Me

by bavariansugarcookie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Keith's Galra traits manifest earlier, M/M, One Shot, Purring Keith (Voltron), Short & Sweet, Soft boys being soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24502351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bavariansugarcookie/pseuds/bavariansugarcookie
Summary: Ever since he was a baby, Keith had always trilled and chirped and purred, but when he went to first grade he realized the other kids thought it was weird, so it became a Just Around Dad thing.After his Dad died he didn't do it for years - until Shiro.OR: The Sheith au where baby Keith always made Galra noises
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 40
Kudos: 321





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a [thread](https://twitter.com/bavariancookie/status/1252814298897760257?s=20) over on my Twitter account, but I wanted to give it a more permanent home here!

Ever since he was a baby, Keith had always trilled and chirped and purred, but when he went to first grade he realized the other kids thought it was weird, so it became a Just Around Dad thing. 

After his Dad died he didn't do it for years - until Shiro.

The first time Shiro took him out on the hoverbikes, he chirped as he pulled up beside Shiro, ready to jump down. He barely resisted clapping a hand over his mouth, hoping Shiro hadn't heard. 

Shiro just smiled & ruffled his hair, & Keith grinned up at him, biting back a trill.

But it kept happening, every time they went racing, and Shiro was *going* to notice.

One night they made it just in time to catch the sunset. Shiro leaned back against the hoverbike and draped an arm around Keith's waist, pulling him in close. 

Keith sighed, looking out at the canyon stained orange and pink in the dying light, and felt a purr kick up in his chest.

He froze, and Shiro looked down, his brow furrowed. "You ok?"

Keith nodded. "Yep. Great. Everything's great."

Shiro raised an eyebrow. "You sure?" he asked, somehow tugging Keith even closer, and the purr rattled even louder.

Keith clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Sorry, I know it's weird - I - I'm sorry," he mumbled, pulling away from Shiro. Ready to jump on the bike and flee.

Shiro caught his elbow. "Hey, hey, it's ok. What's going on?" 

Keith turned bright, boiling red. "It's just - these noises I make, idk why."

Shiro tilted his head, looking thoughtful. "It's not asthma or something, is it? You feel ok?"

Keith shook his head, staring at his shoes. "No, it's always... when I'm happy." He chanced a glance at Shiro's face, and then stared at the ground again. "It's weird, I know it is..."

"Hey, no," Shiro soothed, putting a hand on Keith's shoulder. "It's not weird."

Keith raised an eyebrow at him. "Come on, Shiro. I sound like - like a cat. That's pretty weird." And Shiro laughed. 

"Ok, well Matt burped the alphabet backwards at lunch the other day..."

"That was gross, not weird," Keith insisted, but he caught himself grinning as Shiro laughed again. 

"Ok," Shiro said with a shrug. "Maybe it's a little weird, but who cares?"

"Umm, everyone I know. Except for my Dad," Keith mumbled. 

"And me," Shiro said. "Your Dad and me."

Keith stared, but Shiro just smiled, earnest as always. Keith picked up a stick and started poking at the dirt. "So you *really* don't care?" 

"I really don't," Shiro said. "It takes more than that to phase me."

Keith bit back a smile. "Who says that's the weirdest one?"

After that Keith slowly let himself purr and chirp around Shiro, and eventually Matt after he overheard him and squeaked in delight. "Wtf that was so cute!! Do it again!" Keith swatted at him, but Matt's enthusiasm won him over. The "kitten" nickname, not so much.

Then Shiro and Matt left for Kerberos.

When Iverson read out the report - crash landing, pilot error, presumed dead - Keith felt himself go numb. He raged at Iverson, threw his clothes into a duffle bag, and hotwired a hoverbike. 

Not Shiro's bike. Shiro would need it when he came back.

He unlocked the familiar door, looking at all the dust. He dragged himself to bed, trying to remember what it felt like, that happiness so big it tripped over his tongue without his permission. But he couldn't. All he could feel were the tears dripping onto the pillow.

All he could remember were warm grey eyes, a heartbreaker's smile. Golden sunsets on the overlook.

During the day, he searched, scouring his Dad's old maps. At night he would stare up at the stars, hoping, praying for Shiro to come home.

Sometimes he woke up with an echo of a purr in his throat, as if he was trying to comfort himself somehow.

But it just left him feeling hollow in the bright morning light.

Then one night he saw something streak across the sky, landing in the canyon with a crash so loud it rattled the shack's windows. 

He grabbed his jacket and ran out the door before the dust had a chance to settle.

He swore when he saw the Garrison had beat him to it. His eyes narrowed as he watched them bustle in and out of the main tent. Anything that got Iverson's attention in the middle of the night was with an investigation.

His heart thudded in his chest when he saw a tall figure in ragged purple clothes strapped to a table, but it nearly stopped when he saw Shiro's face. 

A new scar, a streak of white hair, and a metal arm. But it was Shiro.

It was all he could do not to growl at the three cadets that came running, but they gave him the cover he needed to get Shiro out to the hoverbike, so he couldn't be *too* annoyed. 

The cadets shrieked as he dove off the canyon and Keith trilled for the first time in a year.

Keith left the others to bicker over sleeping on the couch. He laid Shiro on the bed, and dragged in the old rocking chair, ready to keep a watch for the night. He noticed Shiro shivering and tucked the blanket tighter around his shoulders.

He sat and waited, slowly rocking. Determined not to fall asleep. His purr was so quiet you could barely hear it over the creak of the rocking chair, but he felt like it was loud enough to hear from space.

He woke with a start, confused why he had fallen asleep in the chair. 

Then Shiro stirred and his heart did its best to thunder out of his chest. 

He leaned forward, brushing the hair out of Shiro's eyes.

Shiro blinked and flinched, looking wildly around him. "Shiro -" Keith said, holding a hand out to reassure him. "Shiro, you're ok. You're safe now."

Shiro's eyes brightened at the sound of Keith's voice, and he collapsed back against the pillow. "Keith? Is it really you?"

Keith nodded, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill over. "Yeah, Shiro. It's me."

Shiro's breath hitched in his chest. "~Keith~"

Keith sobbed, smiling so hard through the tears that it made his cheeks hurt. "Yeah, Shiro. I missed you so much."

Shiro reached out and cupped Keith's cheek. "I can't believe it," he whispered, eyes tracing Keith's face as if it was the most precious thing he'd ever seen.

Keith chirped and Shiro smiled, his eyes glassy. "Keith..."

Keith chirped again. "You're here. You came back to me."

Shiro held out an arm and Keith fell into him, nuzzling into Shiro's neck. He felt that familiar rattle start up in his chest, and Shiro's arms tightened around him. 

Shiro started to shake, and Keith leaned back. "Shiro. What's wrong?"

"I didn't - I thought I would never -" Shiro murmured and Keith bit his lip. 

He brushed away Shiro's tears and said, "I knew. I knew you'd come back."

Shiro smiled, almost shy, but brighter than the sun. "Not all the way. You had to come get me."

"I'll do it. Every time," Keith said, painfully earnest. "I promise."

Shiro pulled him down so he could nuzzle into Keith's throat and Keith trilled. "God, I could never get tired of hearing that," Shiro whispered, and Keith laughed, his purr kicking up even louder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This was such a fun little fic to write, so I hope you enjoyed! <3
> 
> You can find me over on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bavariancookie) if you want to talk about Sheith!


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance *swears* he heard a cat in the shack the night they brought Shiro back... and in the Blue Lion.... and on the Castle Ship.

The morning after they brought Shiro back to the shack, Lance lost his MIND looking for the cat he *swears* he heard. Keith shrugged and said "Maybe you're hearing things" while Shiro had to fake a cough to hide his laugh.

It didn’t stop when they're in space - Lance tore apart the castle, looking for the cat that must have stowed away on the blue lion.

"Unless one of you SMUGGLED IT IN!!" he shouted, pointing a finger and glaring at each of the paladins in turn.

Pidge shot him an unimpressed look, a tiny carbon copy of Matt. Hunk looked vaguely nauseated, and Keith would’ve wondered if he did smuggle *something* on board if that wasn't Hunk's default response to conflict.

Keith just raised an eyebrow, arms crossed, and Shiro smiled up at Lance placidly, like butter wouldn't melt. 

"We were watching cat videos."

Lance squinted at him. "Cat videos."

Keith and Shiro nodded. "Coran found us some."

Coran pulled up his scarily large collection of Earth animal videos, comparing them to animals he's seen on his various travels until Lance's eyes glazed over.

Months and months later, when Lance walked into the lounge and found Keith sitting on Shiro's lap, purring up a storm, he screamed. "It. Was. You. The. Entire. Time?!?!"

Keith laughed and winked at him. "Gotta love those Galra genes."

Lance stormed out of the room, and Shiro dissolved into giggles. "I think he took that pretty well."

Keith snorted, tilting his head so Shiro could kiss down his throat. "Maybe he'll give me the silent treatment." Shiro looked up at him through his eyelashes, eyebrow raised.

"I can dream, right?" Keith asked with a smirk.

Shiro laughed, tangling his fingers in Keith's hair. "Yeah, baby. You can dream."

Keith beamed down at Shiro, leaning down to kiss him with a chirp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wondered what would happen if Lance heard Keith chirp, and all the chaos that would ensue, and then this happened. I don't have any excuse. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> You can find me over on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bavariancookie) if you want to talk about Sheith!


End file.
